A Rant… on Deshaun Watson news

[Nate Powalie]

Okay… here goes.

Now, I'm not someone who usually rants, but this is something that is eating at me a little bit.

For those of you who don't know, I'm a Cleveland Browns fan. And their quarterback, Deshaun Watson, underwent season-ending shoulder surgery yesterday. Now, yes, that is disappointing because he was just starting to find his groove.

But that wasn't the thing that upset me. What annoyed me the most is that I saw "fans" take to social media and cheer for his injury.

Now, don't get me wrong, I dislike Watson as much as the next guy down the street from me. But to cheer for someone to get hurt, to me, that is just morally wrong and unacceptable.

And, without naming any names, I want those who cheered to think about this: whatever sport at whatever level, what if it was your son or daughter who got hurt and someone on an opposing team was celebrating that? How would you react?

I'm sorry if I came off as a bit of a Dick during my rant, but that's just my perspective on the situation. There is just too much negativity in the world today. Can't we just learn to get along and find something positive?

Okay, I've ranted enough. Thank you all for taking the time to view this. Enjoy your day.

[Hag]

I agree. It’s lousy to cheer for an injury in any sport.

[Ccook]

Cheering for an injury is poor form. When Damar Hamlin was felled by his heart condition back in January, the Bengals fans--let alone sports in general--did not cheer. Sports fans should be above a season ending injury regardless of how he's liked or disliked.

[imhomerjay]

In fairness, Hamlin and Watson are not remotely the same.

[Ccook]

Point taken. I guess I was digressing a bit.

[Superballer]

Those of us in Eagle Nation had the same conundrum a quarter century ago when Michael Irvin's career came to an end at Veterans Stadium.  I certainly did not approve of the fans that did cheer as he first stayed down and then limped off for the last time--although he had been the team's unquestioned mortal enemy for a decade at that point, and had set himself up for it in a way when he had been arrested while drowning in drugs not long before, one does expect better professionalism from fans even if it's the team we generally dislike more than any other taking the loss of personnel.  Every fan base should give the best on gameday and on social media afterwards. 

[imhomerjay]

A part of the overarching issue rests in, albeit somewhat facetiously, calling someone or a team a mortal enemy of another. It’s. A. Game. Rooting for your favorite is great. A little lighthearted, good natured trash talk. But there is a not insignificant subset who get overly invested in games that ultimately have no bearing on their life.

[SeaBreeze341]

Well put.  As I've grown up, gotten older, and time has passed, I hardly get worked up over a sporting event, and to a similar extent, opposing fans.  A fan of a rival team talk trash on a team I root for is fair game.  It's not directed at me, so it's not a big deal.  Life is too short to get too bitter over sports.  To some extent, I guess it's common, but not to where it ruins one's day.

As a fan of a team that rivals Cleveland, it would be common to have rooted against Watson.  In fact, a year ago, there was talk about rooting for the guy to get hurt; back then I didn't like it, and that's the case today.

As mentioned elsewhere, I had no emotion for DeShaun.  I didn't laugh, I wasn't mad, and I wasn't sad either.  Honestly, I had no emotion.  People close to me called it Karma, but not me.  I concluded that injuries are part of the game.  The off-field stuff is awful, but on the field, the guy was talented.  Not as much as before, but still better than several within the league.  So that'll be missed.

Still, nothing funny about getting hurt.  I can't get there.  I might not be extremely saddened about it, but it sucks for everyone